Being green: to be a hypocrite or seen as out of touch?

Al Gore is the latest green campaigner to be accused of being a hypocrite, but hey how many of us live by every one of the principles we profess to uphold? Life is full of grey areas and being pure and virtuous is never as easy, nor perhaps even as desirable, as it might appear.

Photos: Al Gore in the excellent film An Inconviennient Truth

I will be among the first to stand up and say that I could be living a greener lifestyle, but this misses a key point. For me, individual actions to tackle climate change are great but will never go far enough. We must have government action to help us change behaviours and ensure those on lower incomes don't loose out. There is also more to it...

Gore hit the news as the anti-environmental lobby group Tennessee Center for Policy Research, highlighted that Gore's mansion in Nashville uses 20 times as much energy as the average American household. It is hard to trust someone who says one thing and does another? Similarly Gore's movie 'An Inconvenient Truth' is full of Gore taking flights to promote a message that would require people to reduce their flights.

The motives of the lobby group's campaign against Gore are obvious: if they can smear the man, then they can also undermine his message. Similar campaigns have been run against London's mayor, Ken Livingstone - arguing that he uses too many taxis, for example - in order to undermine his effectiveness as one of the only political leaders in the world to show real vision and leadership on climate change (with Green party Assembly members help!).

This debate got me thinking about just before Christmas when I was asked to comment on Mr Wakeford, a top adviser to Tony Blair on sustainable development. He was accused of undermining government policy on curbing aviation pollution after it was revealed that he makes a 500-mile round trip by jet from Birmingham to Edinburgh each week. At the time I called that debate a distraction but wish I thought more about the issues at stake and perhaps made a stronger statement. Read the news release here.

On a deeper level, the effects of such accusations can be even more damaging: prominent people who might support green causes keep their mouths shut for fear of having their supermarket bills fished out of their bin by a tabloid hack. Indeed every time a "green hero" is shot down in flames, we all feel that little bit more cynical about politicians, leaders and society in general.

Mark Lynas whose article in the Guardian provided the basis of some of this blog entry writes:

"Cynicism breeds selfishness and a de facto acceptance of the status quo - no cynic ever led a movement for positive change. In this sense, charging someone with hypocrisy serves to reinforce denial: "You're a hypocrite, so why should I do what you tell me?" Or the more disempowering: "If even you can't do it, how can I?" The practical outcome is that lightbulbs go unchanged, lofts uninsulated and bicycles unridden. And greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar. "This denial response is also why, on the other hand, no one likes a greenie who is not a hypocrite. Climate activists I know who do walk the walk (eschewing all flights, for example) look prim and obsessive, as if they are out of touch with the concerns and pressures faced by ordinary people."

Gore was right to travel thousands of air miles in his campaign to raise awareness of climate change: the political shift he has helped engineer has been truly profound, and is one of the few real causes for optimism on climate change today. As Mark Lynas says: "Being a purist may be comforting, but it is unlikely to change the world."

Having said that as blog readers will know the new Transition Town Stroud group, of which I am a member, is looking to see how groups of individuals can together reduce their emissions - see my blog for 22nd Jan. This is a very positive way forward - more info coming to this blog in coming weeks on this.

Mark Lynas' latest book, 'Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet,' is published on March 19.